The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) have formed an alliance to enhance the participation of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in public procurement processes.
The partnership was unveiled during a courtesy visit by NSITF’s managing director, Oluwaseun Faleye, to the BPP’s new director-general, Adebowale Adedokun, in Abuja.
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According to a statement by NSITF general manager, corporate affairs, Nwachukwu Godson, the alliance represents a shared commitment to fostering transparency and inclusivity in public procurement by enabling SMEs to actively participate in competitive bidding for government contracts.
Adedokun emphasised the role of NSITF in advancing BPP’s vision of democratising procurement opportunities for small businesses.
Adedokun also highlighted the need to simplify procurement policies for SMEs, drawing on successful models from Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda.
“Streamlining requirements for marginalized groups such as women and persons with disabilities has enabled greater participation in these countries.
If we want to grow our economy, we must follow a similar path. Small businesses cannot be expected to meet the same standards as large contractors and multinationals,” he noted.
In response, Faleye outlined proactive steps already taken by the fund to improve SME engagement.
He reaffirmed NSITF’s commitment to implementing open competitive bidding by 2025 and tailoring compliance requirements to better accommodate small businesses.
“We recognise the critical role of the informal sector in sustaining the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS) and the broader economy; to this end, we are adjusting our processes to ensure SMEs can compete effectively for contracts.
By 2025, all our procurement engagements will be conducted through open competitive bidding to broaden opportunities for small businesses,” the MD noted.
Faleye also revealed plans for a tiered contracting system that categorises contracts by size, reserving specific opportunities for SMEs and specialized groups such as women-owned businesses.
The partnership also includes joint media campaigns to educate Nigerians on the benefits of the ECS and BPP’s transparency initiatives. Both organisations pledged collaboration in areas such as ICT security and manpower training.